Under the moonlight
by Pencyke
Summary: Drago Walker was raised by wolves. Abnormal even by demigod standards, watch as his life is thrown for an intense ride as he's shoved into the life of a camper. He has to deal with who and what he is as everything comes to kill him. Can he survive? And who is his godly parent anyway?
1. Chapter 1

(Rewritten 10/22/2017)

I don't own anything that belongs to Rick Riordan.

Anything else is debatable.

* * *

So here I am. I'd been living with the Pack since I was three years old, hunting, playing, and running. It was eleven years later when my entire world was shoved over a cliff into a meat grinder and then mixed into dog food. My name is Drago Walker. This is my story.

* * *

One stormy night fourteen years ago a knock upon a door was heard. When the owner of said door answered, there was no one was there. Well, except for me, I was there in a basket with a note. That only had four words written on it(it was a real quick read).

That was the story of my birth.

* * *

Now, fast forward a couple years and you'd find me in some stupid orphanage. The story goes that the owner of that door died very suddenly, only a few hours after he found me. His body was found the morning after, and though there were no signs of foul play, the authorities never found the true cause behind his death and he was eventually forgotten. Thus, I was sent to the nearest orphanage, to be forgotten as well.

I was a trouble-maker and if you asked any of the caretakers, they would've loved to forget me. I broke toys, I fought the other kids, I had the caretakers looking for me for hours on end, and I always ended up with most of the knives somewhere on my little three year old person.

Needless to say that orphanage was happy to see me leave. I wasn't adopted if that's what you're thinking, at least not in the traditional sense. That night I left on my own, and I left with the Pack.

* * *

Now, eleven years later, I'm still with the Pack. It has definitely changed over the years with the Alphas having pups and the pups growing up and becoming Alphas and having their own pups.

* * *

There is one day that I will never forget.

It started out fairly normal, all things considered. Back in the Den, I'd woken up early, and eaten some of the last hunt's prey. There was a bad feeling in the air, like a cold chill. Still, I was stupid enough to ignore it, I was stupid enough to ignore my instincts.

As I prowled through the mists of the early morning, I caught little glimpses of sparkling red eyes watching me from the edges of my vision, but they were gone so fast. I was stupid enough to convince myself that it was my imagination.

The day wore on and I hadn't caught sign or sight of any prey. The sun was high and the fog had cleared. The only sounds I'd heard the whole time were the tiny rustles of leaves as I stalked past them. I crouched for a while, and listened for anything that might disprove the foreboding stillness that had spread throughout the forest. I waited for a while, but I only heard silence. I was about to move when I heard a distant yelp. It wasn't loud and I barely heard it, but it was enough to confirm my fear.

I felt in my gut that whatever had been watching me had left, but that didn't ease my nerves at all. I decided to warn the Pack so I let loose a wild howl, waited a moment, and howled again. I listened for a response but I already knew something was wrong. As fast as my legs could take me, I sprinted back to the den, and still I listened for a response and every moment of silence increased my dread tenfold.

Blood pumped in my ears as I crashed through the forest. There was only one thought going through my head. I arrived and it felt like the blood drained out of my body all at once and I became very cold.

Everyone was dead. Dead and ripped to shreds, and I saw it all in one giant smack to the face. I saw the Alpha's bodies crumpled over the lifeless pups. I saw the old she-wolf laying belly-up with a crumpled rib cage. I saw the others, my friends, my family, all with their spines broken, all with shreds of flesh hanging from what little was left of their bodies. I saw the blood of them all and I nearly collapsed right there.

But there was one who was unharmed, who stood in the middle of the clearing. Her name was Moonbeam-Shadow. We stared at each other in confusion. I didn't understand why she wasn't hurt but she asked if I was okay. Before I could even think of a response, a huge, shining, golden creature blurred into the clearing and snapped Moonbeam clean in half with a maw full of blinding silver spikes.

I looked at the beast that had appeared from the shadows and a word popped into my head and out of my mouth, "Lion."

I didn't know where it came from but when I spoke the creature jerked it's head to the side and I saw Moonbeam's two halves fly out of my field of vision. I saw the blood stains on it's mouth and on it's claws and in that moment I knew that it was the Lion that had killed the Pack.

The cold in my body had receded and was replaced by a raging furnace. A sound bubbled up from inside me and clawed it's way out of my throat in the form of a blood curdling roar that I hadn't known could come out of me. This monster had killed my family, had destroyed my world. Every fiber of my being screamed to end this creature, and I listened.

With all of my might, I ran at the lion. He was roaring at me now and shaking the wreath of golden fur around his head. I shoved my hands into it's open mouth and I clamped my hands onto one of the Lion's largest teeth and I pulled.

Without warning, an unfamiliar power flowed into me, strengthening my arms and my back as I pulled. The Lion shook it's head and it's teeth tried to pierce me, but I held on. As I yanked and pulled harder, it's shaking and flailing lessened until finally, with a roar of effort, the fang snapped. I heard a squelch and suddenly I was flying through the air.

I bounced off a tree and landed on my butt, but I was able to see that the lion looked different. It didn't shine and was more of a dull brown color instead of the bright gold it had been sporting before. It shook it's head and stared at what was in my hand with it's burning ruby eyes. I could see it's look, it was angry and shocked. Hurt and stunned. I'd done something unforgivable and I smiled. I smiled because I'd stolen from the thief. But it wasn't enough, I needed more than just a tooth.

I flipped the fang around in my bloodstained hand and jumped at the lion. I don't know how but easily I cleared the twenty foot gap. As I fell at the Lion, and as he reared up to pounce on me, the second most unexpected thing happened to me that day. A full grown buck charged out of the forest and used it's golden antlers to throw the lion to the side, then a voice echoed in my mind, "Please Lord, they're coming! We must go! We must ride!"

The Lion was gone, but I hadn't killed it. I heard far off sounds, terrible shrieks and cries for blood, my blood. I didn't know how but I knew an army of nightmarish things were coming to tear me apart. The buck pawed the ground nervously and kept talking about needing to go. I still don't know why I got on or what I was thinking, but that day I rode a wild buck and left my home forever.

* * *

I didn't know where Bowen (that was what he wanted to be called) was taking me but we were moving faster than any animal should have been able to move. But despite the speed we were moving, I could hear the roar of the Lion and other things gaining on us. I didn't notice at first, but there was also the smell of dirt and stale air. It was the same must that had been on the Lion and every moment it grew stronger in my nose.

Bowen didn't say much, he was focused on running, and we were going fast. After a while we began to slow down. I wasn't sure where we were, the scenery had gone by so fast I'd only caught a few glimpses of it, but I did know that Bowen was at his limit. Before, his rack had gleamed like the Lion's fur but now they were pale and dull. I could feel his muscles quivering from the strain and I knew he couldn't go on like this.

"Bowen, how close are we?"

The buck's mind pressed against mine and I could feel his exhaustion wash over me. He pointed with his nose, "There, Lord." I looked and saw a huge tree at the top of a hill covered with many smaller trees.

"Up there?"

Bowen stumbled on a root and I fell off with a thud, "Are you well, Lord?!"

"I'm fine, but you need to go up there now!" I gripped the tooth I'd stolen from the lion and turned to face the direction we'd come from. The direction where I smelled the Lion.

Bowen shook his head and tried to nudge me in the direction of the hill, "We must go. Too many. Too many! There is safe. Safe! Must go!"

I could already see the Lion and it had friends. Most were creatures with strange bodies and some were holding strange, shiny, sharp things. I yelled at Bowen, "It's too late for me but you can still make it. Go!" Then, without looking to see if Bowen had listened, I charged at the group of what could only be called monsters. The Lion was in front and we locked eyes. I roared, and for a moment, the monsters hesitated. Then the Lion roared his own challenge and the monsters swelled forward.

As we surged toward each other, my vision narrowed and I only saw the one I would kill. His coat and mane had returned to their former splendor, though it was tarnished by the blood of the Pack. He shook his mane, and I brandished the tooth I'd stolen from him. We collided and I felt the power pour into me once more. I jerked my arms and he crashed into the other monsters.

One of them, a strange kind of snake, opened it's mouth and out came a cone of light and heat. My body moved on it's own, I hopped to the side, jumped forward and stabbed the shining tooth through the snake's head. A moment later, the Lion was on top of me raking his hind claws down my sides. Without thinking, I plunged the fang into the his leg and it let go with a yelp.

A snake lady appeared in my field of vision and sliced down with one of the gleaming shinnies. I roll to the side leaving a small pool of blood and smashed my hand into the snake lady's leg, knocking her over. I snatched up the shiny and swung it at another monster behind me. The shiny caught the creature across the middle and it turned into dirt. I hit the snake lady with it and she turned to dirt too.

The Lion limped toward me and I brandished the shiny for a charge. I swung and ducked and bit and dodged together with the Lion in some kind of a vicious dance to the death. The shiny bounced off of the Lion's glittering coat and he caught it in his mouth. The Lion flexed his jaw and shattered it into tiny pieces.

That was when I saw my chance. While the Lion was distracted with the pieces of sharpness in it's mouth, I lunged for the tooth and ripped it out as hard as possible. The Lion howled in pain, and the sound was deafening. It was full of rage but I didn't stop. I leapt onto the Lion's back and with a roar of triumph drove the fang past the depths of it's mane into the base of it's skull and beyond.

It's cry of pain was cut short, the Lion shuddered and fell still before it crumpled into dirt, leaving behind only the pelt of the once fierce creature. I stood and looked around at the carnage around me, there was dust everywhere, and also people. They had fought the other monsters but hat wasn't important. They all stared at me and they all had shinnies in their hands. I saw Bowen standing at the top of the hill next to the biggest tree, I heard him calling that they were safe.

I nodded to him absently, too absorbed in my thoughts to really pay attention to him. I had killed the beast that had killed my family but that knowledge did nothing to ease my pain. They were gone and they weren't ever coming back. Killing the Lion was supposed to make me feel better. Instead it felt like it's claws were still ripping into my chest and I had no strength to fight it. I sat down right there, in the middle of the pile of dust that had formerly been the Lion and put my head in my hands.

And then I cried.

* * *

The rest of the day was one big blur of words, faces, names, explanations, and revelations that might have been shocking in different circumstances, but I was just tired.

Before I knew it I was lying face-up in an overcrowded building staring at the ceiling. I was supposed to fall asleep but it didn't feel right, the Pack had always been there for him and for them to be gone just reopened the hole in my chest. These _people_ couldn't replace the Pack. I suddenly felt trapped.

Silently, I got up and stalked out of cabin eleven, alert for anyone who might try to stop me.

The moon was full and as I looked around for some place to curl up, one of the cabins in the courtyard caught my attention. It glowed just as the moon did and I felt something stir inside me. It reminded me of a memory, of a night long since past. I felt drawn towards that glowing silver building and a moment later I had crossed the threshold and into the cabin. Inside there were rows of beds, many of them with blankets carelessly tossed on them. It didn't feel right to leave the beds in such sorry states so I tried smoothed them out in an attempt to make it right.

As I made the beds, I noticed something. The cabin, it smelled similar to home, similar to the forest. Thoughts flooded my head and feelings flooded my chest. Why was I there? What was I doing? What was I going to do? Images flashed behind my eyes, unbidden. The blood of the Pack that stained the claws of the Lion, Moonbeam-Shadow as she was snapped in half, the Lion as it crumpled into dust, his face full of pain and fury and anguish. I felt something wet touch my arm and my body twitched.

"Please don't be sad, Lord..." It was Bowen, he was trying to... comfort me? "Please Lord, don't be sad." My eyes still stung from crying and my body shivered as well. Even so, I could feel a tingling power trickle into me. I tore away from the buck and stared at my feet for a moment.

My voice came out in a whisper, "It hurts you when you touch me..." It wasn't a question, and even though Bowen tried to deny it I knew he was just trying to spare my feelings. Now that I paid attention I could feel that he was in pain. It made sense. That was how I killed the Lion. That was the reason why he almost died getting me here.

With that in mind, I fled as far back as I could in that cabin. Bowen came to me anyway, though I noted with a sense of satisfaction and sadness that he didn't try to touch me again. "Just, leave me be, Bowen. You've done enough." The words came out harsher than I'd intended but I held my ground. I felt him prepare to argue but I shouted at him, "Go!"

The buck looked at me with it's big black eyes. Then he said, "As you wish, Lord."

After that he turned tail and left. When he was gone, I whispered dejectedly, "Leave me alone."


	2. Chapter 2

(Rewritten 11/01/2017)

I don't own anything that belongs to Rick Riordan. Anything else is debatable.^_^.

I hope you liked chapter one...Now, who's ready for round two?!

* * *

It was morning.

After Bowen left I went back to the cabin that I was supposed to sleep in, the eleventh. They said that was where all of the new and unclaimed demigods went. There was something about my godly parent probably being someone named Hermes but that didn't really matter to me. That wasn't the Pack.

Instead of going inside of the building I sat on the front step and stared at the horizon. Eventually, the sun came up and that was where Travis and Connor found me. After a quiet moment one of them coughed, "Hey, you alright?" I turned my head to look at them, what would they see in my face?

I turned back and stared to the east, "I have been better…" My voice came out soft and weak. I licked my cracked lips and frowned.

"So he does speak! We were about to start calling you Silent Bob."

I didn't want to think about how I hadn't spoken to anyone other than Bowen. I wished for them to leave me alone.

One of the twins forced a grin, "Speaking of names, you never told us yours."

I didn't look back at them as I hugged my knees to my chest. I wasn't in the mood for conversation but they pressed on anyway, "C'mon, tell us! We don't just want to call you… well, you. Unless you do want to be Silent Bob."

I closed my eyes with a sigh, they were still here. Then again, so was I.

One of them was in the middle of talking when I started walking, "And don't get me started on the oatmeal. Hey! Where you going?"

I ignored him.

They caught up to me too soon, "Look, I know this is all new to you and it's hard to really understand what's going on but trust me, once you get used to it, camp can be really fun. There's the sing-a-longs, and chariot racing. We got extreme capture the flag, three meals a day, and all kinds of different lessons and stuff were you can learn cool new things like-" Then I stopped listening.

As I left the cabin circle, I took in the sights around me.

I saw a strange area with a couple of slim grey trees with big white things mounted on top of them where there were campers playing some sort of game with a ball. They were smiling and laughing. There was one spot circled with fake people where some of the actual people were beating each other and the fake people with sticks. They too were smiling and laughing. I also saw the horse guy who had introduced himself as Chiron. The name centaur bubbled into my head as I stared at him. He was walking with a group of kids, all of them laughing and smiling together. I looked away.

My ears picked up the sound of heavy footfalls that definitly didn't belong to the twins. I turned around just in time for a meaty hand to grab onto my face. They tried to carry me off but I dug my feet into the ground and jerked my body hard. My face was freed from their palm, and I didn't stop the growl that bubbled out of me.

The muscle bound girl smirked to the two others at her flanks, "Check it out, the new guy's got some fire in him." She stared at me with a cruel glint in her eyes, "Let's see how much good it does for him." She whistled and the girls at her side stepped toward me.

I eyed them both as they circled me, growl still going like a thrumming motor. They wanted to dominate me.

One of the twins spoke up, "Clarisse, let it go. I don't know exactly what but he's going through some tough times. Call off your goons, give him a few days."

This was some kind of ritual, to bring me into their Pack. They wanted to show me my 'place' in the pecking order.

Clarisse sent that twin a withering look, "Tough, everyone who shows up is going through something." She sneered, "He's nothing special."

They could try.

Clarisse nodded and the one behind me tried to grab my arm. I was able to twist out of the way but the other one tackled me onto the ground and pinned my legs under her body. When she moved to grab my arms, I head-butted her and the crack that rang out cut through whatever the twins were saying.

"Aargh!" The girl on top of me reeled back and in that moment I was able to escape from under her.

The other one immediately grabbed me by the orange shirt that had been forced onto me upon my arrival and lifted me off the ground. I smashed my foot in her face with a crunch and she let me go to clutch her suddenly bloody face. I landed on my back and scrambled onto my feet.

Clarisse tried to tackle me and I threw myself to the side just in time to avoid the full brunt of her charge. I was still thrown to the ground, just not underneath her. I landed on my hands and knees and then Clarisse caught me in the stomach with her foot.

"That'll teach you!" She tried to real her foot in for another swing but I held on tight, "Hey, let go of my leg before I squash you, punk!"

I had my feet under me, then I stood and Clarisse toppled backward. I stared down at her.

"Silent Bob, watch out!" I jerked my head toward the twin who'd shouted, then I was grabbed from behind, lifted off my feet, and plunged head first into the ground.

"That was for my nose."

They grabbed my legs and started to drag me off somewhere. My head was still shaken, but I had the feeling that if I let them take me, I would regret it forever. I clawed at the dirt, but they kept pulling me along. Then I dug deeper into the ground and pulled. I was able to free my legs from their grips, but I was still surrounded.

"Get him!" The three of them closed in on me, and I realized I couldn't slip out of their circle.

I bent my legs, ready to fight tooth and nail, when suddenly there was an opening. The twins had blindsided Clarisse. One of them yelled at me, "Run!"

So I did.

I ran and Clarisse's goons were right behind me. I led them to the mess hall, where everyone else was having breakfast. I ran right up to the first table and then I was on top of it and hopping to the next one. I kicked a plate of food in one of the girl's faces, but the other one made it onto the table. She'd picked up a stick somewhere along the way and she didn't hesitate to swing it at my head.

I dived to the next table and snagged some kid's turkey leg. Then I flung it across the way and it smacked the girl who hadn't climbed onto a table in the side of the face. The other girl snapped the stick over my shoulder. Our eyes met and she froze for a moment. I wrapped my fingers around the nearest thing I could get my hand on and smacked her in the face. The metal platter was dented but it looked like she was down for the count.

I exhaled through my nose and I looked around.

It was deathly quiet, everyone had stopped eating. I stood there in the middle of the breakfast banquet, on top of a table, with my foot in some poor kid's hash browns, and a couple of girls I'd just knocked unconscious, and I stared at everyone around me. They all stared back.

At the front of the dinning pavilion there was slow clapping. The sound seeming amplified by the surrounding silence and it rolled over everyone.

The bored voice of Mr. D, the camp director, reached my ears and I felt the undertones of a power that thrummed just beneath the surface. He spoke softly, "Animals, the lot of you." Then he grumbled something else under his breath. I didn't hear what he said, but I did see when he stood up and flung his drink (some sort of brown liquid) onto the nearest camper.

An orange flew across the way. Then everyone burst into motion.

I met Mr. D's gaze over sea of flying food and in that moment I saw something not quite good or bad. I was a jumbled mix up of feelings.

Then I jumped off the table to dodge a flying, thing. I was able to slip away, but I still felt the weight of Mr. D's eyes on the back of my head.

* * *

The forest kind of reminded me of home and as I passed by I began marking trees that I passed with my own claw marks, just like with the Pack. I remembered the first time they had taken me with them on the Hunt.

It was back before the Alphas had their latest pups. Winter was at it's end and the ground was damp and the scent of prey was difficult to pick up. The sun was on the horizon and the shadows were at their longest. We hadn't found anything trackable over the last few days and the whole Pack was hungry. Food had been more scarce than usual that season and we were desperate.

The hunger gnawed at the bottom of my belly so hard, the pain was driving me crazy. I whined at the Alpha and was cowed by his growl. We were all hungry.

I couldn't take it, I collapsed face first in a patch of snow. I laid there, whining softly as the Pack skirted around me to continue onward. There was no room for weakness in the Pack. If I couldn't keep up, I'd be left to die.

I watched the swaying tails of the Pack through my frosty lashes and I felt something move against my chest. I looked down and out of the mound of snow I'd collapsed on burst a family of fluff ears.

The breeze changed and suddenly I was back in the camp's woods. I licked my lips at the memory of the fluff ears, I'd caught scent of one. I followed the scent trail through the forest and silently stalked after it.

It wasn't long before I had it in my sights, and the little morsel didn't have a clue about the predator that lurked just in front of it's face. The fluff ear stopped to sniff at a wildflower and I saw my chance. In a moment I was on the animal, neck snapped and body hanging limp from my hand. Quickly, I tore into the little creature and plopped the fresh meat onto my waiting tongue. I felt the gnawing in my belly lessen as devoured the meat, and I lost myself in my frenzy.

All too soon there was nothing left of it.

As I stood up and looked around my ears picked up the sound of water splashing nearby. I looked myself over and made the executive decision that I could use some sprucing up. It was surprising that the fluff ear hadn't even tried to escape, I just grabbed it and it let itself die. Back home the prey had always struggled in it's final moments, but not this fluff ear.

I dragged my hand across the bark of a tree as I thought. It was almost as if it had never experienced the Hunt before. Come to think of it, I hadn't found any traces of any other kind of predator for the whole time I'd been in the forest. It didn't make sense, unless they somehow kept all the carnivores out of the forest?

A few more steps and I was past the tree line and on the small shore. Deep in thought, I pulled off the shirt I had been forced to wear and stared at the it for a while in dissatisfaction. I sighed, thinking wasn't what I needed. I tugged off the pants that had also been given to me in place of my shredded skins(courtesy of that Lion) and I waded into the water. When it got up to my belly, I kicked off and began to swim. It felt good to be on the water, riding the waves, letting them move me even as I clawed my way past them.

I put my head underneath and dove under the surface of the lake. I listened to the muffled swishing of the water for a while. Then I heard something that sounded like… Giggling? I opened my eyes and looked around in the clear water, wondering how someone could be giggling underwater. I felt a tap on my back. I whirled around and my face came inches away from another. Her eyes sparkled mischievously. She covered her face with a hand and, still giggling, pointed between my legs.

I wondered what she was giggling about as I checked for anything out of place. Everything seemed to be in order and I looked back at the underwater girl in confusion. She shrugged her shoulders and grabbed my hand, leading me deeper into the lake. The skin on her hand felt slightly abrasive when I rubbed my thumb one way and smooth when I rubbed it the other way. I stroked a passing fish, it felt the same.

Everything was so different underwater, the sky was a faraway thought and the sun a wavering disk of dim light. The girl tugged my hand and I looked over. She held some kind of bundle in her hand. She kept her head turned to the side as she pushed it into my arms.

I unfolded it and saw that this girl was giving me some kind of clothes. It was the same kind of scaled sort of texture as what she wore, shiny and silver-green in color. I looked back at the girl and smiled at her, she glanced at me and motioned from the clothes to me, a deeper shade of green coloring her cheeks. I stared at her for a moment, my head tilted in confusion for a moment.

I held that position for three full seconds before I finally realized what she was trying to tell me. With a swift tug, I had the pants on my legs and was working the shirt over my head. I idly wondered if the people here liked to wear tight clothes or if they just wanted to make sure everyone had something to wear. I finished dressing and looked to thank the strange girl, but she was nowhere in sight. I shrugged my shoulders and swam back towards the distant shore, content to ponder about the strange girl later.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys how's it going? I hope you're reading my other story and enjoying it as well ;)

I don't own anything that belongs to Rick Riordan though anything else is debatable.

Now, onwards and downwards! lets get on with the story!

* * *

When I emerged from the surface of the lake I saw that the sun had risen higher in the sky than I had thought underneath the surface. I hurriedly grabbed my torn and tattered coverings and rushed back through the forest to where I remembered I had fought that, what did they call her? Oh yeah, that daughter of Aries. I didn't really understand what that was all about yet so I just put it in the back of my mind for now.

From the breakfast pavilion I followed the scent trail I'd left when I was fighting with what's-her-butt. As I thought back I remembered that I was supposed to get a weapon right when she had tried to introduce her fist to my face. I saw Travis casually leaning against the armory building and I quickened my step from a walk into a trot. The co-counsellor of cabin 11 smiled brightly when we made eye-contact, "Hey, you came back!" I nodded as I came to a halt, "I'm glad you finally realized that you can't go into battle with a turkey leg instead of a sword."

I tilted my head to the side slightly in confusion, "What's a sword?" Travis seemed a little shocked at my comment but recovered his sly smile almost instantly, "This, my friend is a sword." and a sword he did pull out. Or at least I assumed it was a sword, I definitely recognized the long thing in the twin's hands as a shiny but was it really called a sword?

"Oookay?" Travis shook his head at my confused look, still maintaining his smile, "Well, it doesn't matter what you call it as long as you've got one and can use it. There's gonna be capture the flag Friday night so you'll need to prepare so you don't make a complete fool of yourself!" The thought of capture the flag seemed to add to the councilor's excitement as he pushed me through the door.

The room was full of sharp edges and the eerie glow that radiated from them. I looked back at the smiling guy and he said, "Go ahead, we don't have a lot of time so pick the one that you think you'll do best with." I nodded and looked back at the room itself. It was situated with weird clothes all on the walls and in the middle were rows of weapon racks filled to the brim.

As I passed in between the different rows Travis started talking again, "So, how'd you end up with those strange clothes? They don't look like anything you'd get at the camp store and I don't think you arrived with them... You were wearing those animal furs before, and you didn't have a bag... You couldn't have been wearing it under those furs, they were so ripped up they barely covered you at all... Come to think of it, I wasn't there when you crossed the barrier, did you really kill the Nemian Lion by yourself? If you did, then that's probably why your 'clothes' were all ripped up but it doesn't explain your lack of wounds... Either way, if that's the case then you've got to have some serious combative talent... Then again that was obvious alone with the way you busted into breakfast this morning... Come to think of it, how come you got here so late? I saw the other guys heading away from the pavilion, but you didn't come down... I'm not gonna lie, I was about to go looking for you when you showed up in that ridiculous outfit. Well, I guess ridiculous was a bit harsh but I mean-"

"Is this okay?" I showed Travis my choice and he stood there with his hand up to his chin as he scrutinized what I was showing him. Finally he shrugged and said "Should be fine, but I don't know anyone who normally uses two weapons. I'd say your best bet on finding someone who would know anything about using two blades would either be a child of Athena or Ares. Ares is way more likely though, for sure. I dunno, maybe your lucky and they'll respect you for that spectacular finish at breakfast and teach you. Probably not, but we can hope right?" I tilted my head at the statement as my hands tied the belt that he handed me around my waist. After that I followed the twin back towards the cabins, unsure about the light, yet unfamiliar weight of the two bronze daggers at my side.

As we walked by the different cabins I couldn't help but stare at where the glowing cabin had been last night. What had once been beautiful and unique under the moon, was now unremarkable and plain in the sun. I couldn't understand it, how could such a thing change so abruptly? "Curious about cabin 8?" I snapped out of my trance and turned to look at Travis before nodding somberly. He also nodded, "Yep, that's cabin 8, for children of the goddess Artemis. That is, if she had any children." That confused me, "What do you mean?"

"You see, early in her life Artemis swore to stay a virgin forever or something like that. I never really paid attention when it came to that goddess specifically because generally her and her huntress group don't like and avoid us campers." I tilted my head slightly to the side and repeated the words "Huntress group?" The counsellor hit his forehead with his palm, "That's right, you don't know about them do you?" I shook my head and he continued, "Well, she's got this group literally called the Hunters of Artemis. It's all girls and they kind of hate guys like us, or just any dude in general. Any girl has the option of joining and for the small price of whatever love life they have or may have they can hunt with her forever."

"Uh, is that a long time?" The half-blood's face said that I'd asked a stupid question. While it looked pretty different on a person's face I still recognized it from all the times I'd gotten that look back when I was still with the Pack. I hung my head in sadness, while Travis flailed in his confusion, "Hey man, it's okay! I-I was just joking! Ha haha ha! C'mon, don't be sad." I looked at his face and he continued with his explanation, "For your answer, yes, forever is a long time. Never ending in fact. Though I guess with that definition not even the hunters live forever. They can live forever, but most of the time they don't because while there's only one way for them to die it's that one way that they do die?" This had me completely confused, "Huh?" Travis crossed his arms and nodded to himself sagely, "You see, the only way for a Hunter of Artemis to die is if they die in combat, or in other words, are killed. Not that it's important or even relevant."

By that time we were just standing in front of a red cabin that I assumed was for the children of Ares. I could hear voices inside and idly wondered if Dart was there too. I looked at Travis and he motioned for me to listen at the door with him but I can already hear what they're saying so I don't move. The councilor sighs with a smile and pushes the door open, it seems he misunderstood me.

A few things that I realized when Travis flung open the door to Ares cabin. The inside is just as red as the outside, it had what seemed like twice as many weapons as the building we just came from, and all of the residents within were at the very least musclebound and at the very most idiots. With one exception. Said exception was sitting in a corner reading a book of some kind. Travis strode right up to the person who looked to be the alpha of the cabin, our footfalls echoed like rolling thunder in silent room.

I recognized the girl who'd attacked me that morning and it looked like she was angry about it, "You..." I remember her name is Marisa, "I'm gonna kill you!" Yep, she's angry. And charging at me. Even so, no one expects what happens next. A shadow drops down from the ceiling onto Marisa, knocking her out with a swift chop to the neck, and just as swiftly dragging her under a nearby bedframe before disappearing in a puff of smoke. I saw the guy reading a book yawn, "Yeah, ninja's are sort of a regular occurrence here in Ares cabin. At least they have been ever since the 'Sushi incident'" A couple of campers present visibly shivered at the mere mention of the delicious Japanese cuisine, "or so I've heard." He absent mindedly pulls out a pick and uses it to fluff his big hair out. My eyes narrow and I say something unexpected, "Dart, your nose is melting." He didn't even look up, "That hasn't happened since my second day at camp."

"Oh." I hung my head at my failed attempt at humor, thinking about how funny some members of the Pack could be. That was when Travis spoke up, "Anywho, we just dropped by to see if there was anyone who was willing to teach Drago over here." His thumb points at me nonchalantly, "I just figured that since Hermes and Ares are allies this time around that it'd benefit the entire team if pretty boy here didn't need to march into battle with a couple of turkey legs, as much of a boon to our own ranks that would be I think that we can agree that it would be better to save the poultry for eating." The girl, obviously the alpha of Ares cabin narrows her eyes as she scrutinizes me.

I know what game this is, I used to play it all the time with the cubs of the pack. It's a contest of dominance, the two stare into each other's eyes and try to exert their dominance without any movements or words. The loser is the first to admit to the other's dominance over them. I forced my body to be still as I level my stare and clear my mind. I don't notice the time ticking away, or the silence permeating the area. Suddenly she's got a weird smile and lets out a barking laugh, a blur of movement and a hand slams on my shoulder, "You've got spunk kid, I'll give you that. Smartass!" This time Dart actually did look up from his book, "You'll be training this one to dual wield until it's time for the game. We'll snatch that flag right out from under their noses, got it?" Dart groans to his feet and lets out a loose, "Aye sir" as he walks out the door.

It's quiet as we walk away from the cabin. I try to make conversation because that seems like the thing to do, "Uh, I got these new clothes?" It was more of a question, "I noticed." He nodded to himself as he continued, "It seems the material is laced with some kind of metal thread. Possibly steel though it's probably something else." His explanation sort of went completely over my head, "A girl in the lake gave them to me." Dart looked back at me with a strange smile, "A girl huh? So, what did you think of her?"

"Huh?" The big haired guy shrugged his shoulders and clicked his tongue, "Well right now it doesn't really matter, we're here." We had indeed arrived at the place where I'd seen others using 'swords'. I didn't have time to ponder the scenery though, mainly because I had to dodge a sword held by the person who lead me there. We stood across from each other, "Draw your blades, Drago! Before I can teach you I've got to see what you've got!"

* * *

Sorry about the length of this chapter but honestly I've had some major writer's block with this chapter.

P.S. Review...


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